Notes and quotes from the La. Legislature

Apr. 7, 2010

Written by

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BATON ROUGE, La. — An attempt to require drug testing of welfare recipients is headed to review by the same House committee that rejected the idea last year.

The House Health and Welfare Committee refused Wednesday to vote on the bill and instead suggested it should be sent to the House Appropriations Committee, which deals with budget matters and killed the measure in 2009.

Rep. John LaBruzzo, R-Metairie, said his proposal (House Bill 611) could help families get addiction treatment and make sure tax dollars aren’t spent on drug habits.

“We need to try to do something to help people who need the help, and secondly, we need to honor the taxpayers of Louisiana who are footing the bill for this. This money doesn’t just come out of the air,” LaBruzzo said.

LaBruzzo’s bill would mandate that people who receive benefits from the Family Independence Temporary Assistance Program, known as FITAP, submit to drug testing to receive benefits. Those who test positive for drugs would have to receive treatment or lose their welfare check.

Opponents argued the bill unfairly singles out poor mothers, without evidence demonstrating they are more prone to drug problems than college students who receive free tuition from the state, for example. They also questioned whether the state can afford the cost. The Department of Social Services estimates the price tag at more than $520,000 annually.

Current law already requires a program for drug screening of welfare recipients. ———

The House, in an 82-11 vote, supported a constitutional amendment that would make it easier for government to sell expropriated property.

The measure (House Bill 276) by Rep. Walt Leger III, D-New Orleans, would exempt the city from having to offer an expropriated piece of property back to the owner provided it was taken after being deemed a public health or safety risk.

The issue now heads to the Senate for debate.

The bill is being pushed by New Orleans officials who say that current law has made it too hard to get thousands of abandoned properties back into the marketplace. ———

“If it’s good enough for me and the governor, it’s good enough for them.”

— Rep. Rickey Hardy, D-Lafayette, arguing for his bill that would place term limits on judges, district attorneys and sheriffs.